College Update: Glendale college baseball transfers continue to produce at next level
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Angel Rodriguez (Glendale Community College, 2014) Cal State Northridge baseball junior: An All-American and All-Western State Conference selection at Glendale, Rodriguez was an All-Big West Conference honorable mention after his first season at Northridge.
“Angel settled into his role and he epitomized what a reliever does. He bridged the game from the starter to the closer,” Matadors Coach Greg Moore told the school’s website. “He grew as a reliever, which was his mission in the fall. On Sunday games, after two days of relative non-activity, he was able to stay sharp in many games.”
Following some excellent starts at the onset of the season, Rodriguez was moved to the bullpen, which was phenomenal for the Matadors, who were 30-0 when leading after seven innings.
Rodriguez finished the season with a 3.04 earned-run average over 21 appearances and 47 1/3 innings. He posted a 2-0 record with two saves. Perhaps most impressively, he struck out 33 and walked just five.
Following a shutout inning of relief in his first four-year college appearance on Feb. 13 in a 4-2 win over Utah Valley State, Rodriguez’ first-ever NCAA start saw him go the distance, tallying a six-hitter with just one run allowed in a 5-1 victory over Gonzaga on Feb. 15.
CSUN finished the season at 33-24, 8-16 in conference.
Currently, Rodriguez is playing in the California Collegiate League for the Conejo Oaks. So far, he’s been outstanding, having tallied a 1.89 ERA in three appearances and 16 innings. He’s struck out 10 and walked just two with his most recent appearance coming Tuesday against the Santa Barbara Foresters. Rodriguez went six innings, allowing two runs, while striking out seven and walking one.
He’s 1-0, though he didn’t factor in the decision Tuesday, for Conejo, which was 5-4 in the CCL and 10-5 overall heading into Thursday’s game against the Foresters.
Edgar Montes (Glendale Community College, 2013) University of Nevada Las Vegas baseball senior: Montes turned in another terrific season in his final campaign with the Rebels.
Second on UNLV among starters, he hit .306 with 57 hits in 186 at-bats.
As the Rebels went 25-31 with a 10-20 mark in the Mountain West Conference, Montes led them with 15 doubles. He added 31 runs, 30 runs batted in and three homers.
Montes was a second-team all-conference pick as a junior with a .296 average, 33 runs, 27 RBI and 14 doubles, but didn’t get an all-conference recognition despite improving his numbers in every category but runs. Known for having a great throwing arm in the outfield, Montes had eight outfield assists as a junior and added six as a senior.
Julian Jarrard (Glendale Community College, 2014) Biola baseball junior: Jarrard turned in an outstanding first season with the Eagles, excelling with the bat and even on the mound as he tried his hand pitching.
Biola, which struggled to a 22-31 record with a 16-26 mark in the Golden State Athletic Conference, got myriad contributions from Jarrard.
At the plate, Jarrard hit .315 (57 for 181) with a team-high 13 home runs, which was nine more than his nearest teammate. He also led the Eagles with 45 runs batted in. In addition, Jarrard tallied 36 runs, 10 doubles, a team-high 106 total bases, a team-best .586 slugging percentage, 16 walks and a .383 on-base percentage. For good measure, he was five for five stealing bases.
On the mound, Jarrard had seven appearances across eight innings with an 0-1 record and an impressive 1.12 earned-run average. Perhaps most impressively, he had 11 strikeouts to just one walk.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Jarrard was left off the all-conference team.
Nonetheless, he was honored as the conference’s player of the week on April 13. In four games during the week, he batted .438 with seven hits, three home runs and 10 RBI.
Biola ended its season on a winning note April 25 with a 4-1 victory over William Jessup. Jarrard was one for three with a double, run, RBI and came on to close out the game and season, throwing a perfect inning with two strikeouts.
Mark Strazzeri (Glendale Community College, 2014) Viterbo baseball junior: Though Viterbo had its share of struggles, Strazzeri was a highlight in his rookie season at the four-year level.
Strazzeri, a junior catcher, was one of three V-Hawks bestowed with an All-Midwest Collegiate Conference honorable mention.
In his junior campaign, Strazzeri started in all 35 games he played for Viterbo (11-30, 5-19 in MCC). At season’s end, he had a .280 batting average (28 for 100) with 10 runs batted in, seven doubles and two runs. He added 10 walks and just nine strikeouts, notching a .342 on-base percentage. He also made just two errors behind the plate.
Hitting clean-up in the batting order, Strazzeri finished his season in style, going three for three with a walk and two RBI in Viterbo’s 6-2 conference win over Mount Mercy in the season finale on April 26. He also concluded his year on a four-game hitting streak.
Sergio Plasencia (Glendale Community College, 2013) Dayton baseball senior: The redshirt senior infielder wrapped up his days as a Flyer this season.
Dayton went 16-38 on the season with a 5-19 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Plasencia, who played and started in 51 games, hit .253 (50 for 198) with a team-high 28 walks that led to a .362 on-base percentage that was second-best on the team. He also led the Flyers with 29 runs and contributed 24 runs batted in, nine doubles and three home runs.
Another GCC transfer and a Crescenta Valley High product, Cam Silva joined Plasencia on the roster. The junior catcher saw action in 26 games with 19 starts. He hit just .172 (10 for 58) with eight RBI and five runs. He was great behind the plate, though, making just two errors for a .988 fielding percentage.
Jay Sheely (Glendale Community College, 2014) New Mexico State baseball junior: A highly-decorated outfielder at Glendale, Sheely got his share of playing time with the Aggies and produced mixed results.
Sheely played in 31 games for the Aggies (11-38-1, 7-19-1 in Western Athletic Conference), starting in 22 contests. On 19 hits in 84 at-bats, he hit .226 with 17 runs and 16 runs batted in.
Pepe Marquez (Glendale Community College, 2013) York baseball junior: Marquez worked his way into the order for a successful Panthers squad. He saw playing time in 33 games with 29 starts as York went 40-19 with a 19-5 record in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, which was good enough for a share of the regular season title and advancement to the NAIA Tournament.
Marquez and company went 1-2 in the NAIA Opening Round as they were eliminated by Oklahoma City University, 10-4, on May 14.
Marquez saw playing time in 33 games with 29 starts. He hit .211 with 16 hits in 76 at-bats, coming around to score 13 runs and driving in 15.